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3 plead guilty in burglary ring that hit dozens of Mass. towns
The scheme targeted the homes of residents of Indian or South Asian heritage, officials said.
Three men pleaded guilty last week to dozens of break-ins across 25 Massachusetts towns, perpetrated as part of a burglary ring that targeted residents of Indian or South Asian heritage, officials said Tuesday.
Jovan Lemon, 30, of Providence, Rhode Island, Paul Lemon, 31, of Warwick, Rhode Island, and Steven Berdugo, 29, also of Providence, pleaded guilty in Middlesex Superior Court in connection with the 43 break-ins, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office said.
Jovan and Paul Lemon pleaded guilty to 32 counts of unarmed burglary and three counts of breaking and entering a dwelling house in the daytime with the intent to commit a felony. Steven Berdugo pleaded guilty to seven counts of unarmed burglary.
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A fourth man — Paul Miller, 46, of Woonsocket — was arrested and charged in the case last year. According to court filings, he is scheduled to go to trial in the case in October.
Prosecutors said the burglary ring targeted homes owned by residents of Indian or South Asian heritage.
“These three defendants pled guilty to their role in a sophisticated and calculated scheme that targeted victims based upon their ethnicity and caused fear and pain in our Indian and South Asian communities,” Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement. “The defendants believed that households of these families were more likely to contain precious metals, jewelry and other valuable heirlooms.”
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Ryan said the men were “disciplined about concealing their identity,” using technology like Wi-Fi jammers to perpetrate the burglaries.
“Despite these challenges, local law enforcement agencies worked diligently and collaboratively to identify the perpetrators and, in some cases, to recover a significant amount of jewelry and other property,” Ryan said.
The men targeted homes in Billerica, Boxborough, Carlisle, Easton, Hopkinton, Lincoln, Weston, Sudbury, Andover, Bellingham, Boxford, Franklin, Hudson, Littleton, Medway, Middleton, Millis, North Attleboro, Norwell, Pembroke, Seekonk, Sharon, Southborough, Wenham, and Westwood between July 21, 2018 and March 30, 2024, according to the DA’s office.
Property that was reported stolen in the break-ins included jewelry, with some individual pieces valued at $75,000, and large amounts of cash. In some cases, the valuables were secured in 400-pound safes, which prosecutors said the men removed from the residence.
The total value of the property stolen by the burglary ring amounted to more than $4 million, according to the DA’s office. Following a nine-month investigation, the men were indicted by a Middlesex Grand Jury in April 2024 for their roles in the scheme.
Jovan Lemon was sentenced to serve 10 to 13 years in a Massachusetts House of Correction, according to the DA’s office. Paul Lemon and Steven Berdugo were sentenced to serve nine to 12 years.
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